The Pulse is the bi-weekly e-newsletter from The Physician Alliance, one of Michigan's largest physician organizations serving more than 2,200 primary care and specialty physicians.

The Pulse of The Physician Alliance

Friday, February 16, 2018

Create a plan for closing gaps in care

Did you know that closing your patient care gaps can help your practice qualify for higher revenues? A better managed patient population leads to closing gaps in care which can lead to physician practices being eligible for more incentive dollars from payer sources. Creating processes to address and prevent gaps can lead to improvement in quality scores, revenue and overall patient health.

Gaps in care reports can be generated through electronic medical records and TPA's disease registry, Wellcentive, to alert and inform practices about missing quality indicators in their patient populations. These reports can indicate which patients are missing important screenings to help detect potentially life-threatening illnesses. Practices can begin by selecting specific conditions to focus on for a patient outreach plan, which might include:

Sending letters to patients listing needed screenings/tests

Follow up calls to patients

Utilizing patient portals

Text messaging (reminder alerts)

In an effort to help practices work on closing gaps, The Physician Alliance will send monthly electronic communication that includes patient letter templates, additional tips for identifying and closing gaps, and monthly measure targets for use by practices. TPA also developed patient education materials on a variety of quality measures for display in exam rooms and distribution to patients. Visit the website to view these. Your practice resource team member is also a great resource for questions and information.

Program protects patients from utility shutoffs

Patients suffering from medical conditions requiring home medical equipment or a life support system may find relief from worrying about utility shutoff, thanks to a new rule implemented last December by the Michigan Public Service Commission.

The Medical Certification Form was recently approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission to justify restoring service or putting a hold on disconnecting service for patients who reply on service for medical conditions. The form must be completed by a physician or public health care official, verifying a patient's medical condition.

Forms are available on utility companies' website. A sample form can be
viewed here.

Decrease use of antibiotics, even in flu season

The Physician Alliance participates in Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's Resource Stewardship Initiative, which seeks to decrease over-utilization of medical services.
Decreasing antibiotic use in adults with bronchitis is a key focus area for TPA (this is also a HEDIS measure).

Acute bronchitis is the most common diagnosis in these patients and accounts for more than 10 percent of ambulatory care visits in the United States. Viruses are responsible for more than 90 percent of acute bronchitis infections but 70 percent of these patients receive unnecessary prescription for antibiotics, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.

With the flu season in a critical stage this year, it's important for physicians to continue to determine if an antibiotic is necessary, even if a patient requests one. Overuse of antibiotics can cause resistance to infections and unnecessary risks to patients. Antibiotic resistant bacteria causes at least 23,000 deaths each year in the U.S., according to the CDC.